Gyroscopic apparatus



GYRoscoPIc APPARATUS Filed oc't. 1, 195s THEIR H TLURNE Y Patented Mu. 30,1943

UNITI-2D STATES PATENT' oFFicE 2,315,216 I v Gvnoscorlc APPARATUS Waldemar Mller, Bechlin, near. Murow Mecklenburg, and Gert Zoege von Manteuilel, Berlin-v Dahlem, Germany; Custodian vested in the Alien Property Application october r1, -193e, serial No. 103,538 In Germany October 26, 19135 (Cl. 74-5)v 'pendulous devices have been suggested that become operative when the gyro shaft departs from the vertical and generate a torque by means of These known devices howment that is not driven by air but for instance bynelectricity, since in this air ow must be generated separately.

On the other hand, for electrically or pneumatically driven gyros devices have been suggested in which torque generators are attached to the corresponding axis of freedom consisting of solenoids and cores movable therein. This arrangement has the drawback that conductors through the Cardan axes are necessary, increasing their friction and complicating the manufacture. n

Similar devices have been proposed for azimuth l gyros, for causing these to follow the indications ofI a compass, which devices are usually known in the art as gyro magnetic compasses. However, here also conductors through the Cardan.

axes are necessary.

Finally there has-been disclosed'a device con- I sisting of a ring attached to the indicator frame of an azimuth ,gyro and an airjet attached to the housing which prevents the drifting of lthe gimbal ring.` .The drawback of ths'arrangement however, is the torque exercised in one direction only operates correctly in a certain relative posi- .tion of the gyro and housing, so thatvthe use. of

such a device for following runs into great dificulties. Y

2 Claims.'

that a certainprecession speed always corre- 4air jets about a horizontal axis normal thereto I which results in a precession of the gyro shaft vvback to the vertical. ever result in a complication of a gyro instru- `mit'ting the torque about one axis. Considerable advantages result from the design according to the invention. On the one hand, conductors leading to the torque generator through the Cardan axes are unnecessary. 0n the other hand, the operation of the device, in for instance an azimuth gyro, is independent of the azimuth position of the gyro instrument. This means,

sponds to a certain eld strength for generating the torque. The field may be generated in different ways. It will often be found advantageous to drive the device for creating the precession movements from the same source as provides the power for driving the gyro, although inv certain cases pneumatic-electric combinations are advantageous, for instance in the control of an electrical gyro by a pneumatic compass. J In an electro-magnetic device for vgenerating precession movements it is preferable, to make the device such that the torque is exercised by a magnetic eld generated'by a coil substantially symmetrical and concentric to the precession axis, and which acts on a permanent magnet to transmit the torque about the selected axis. The advantage lies therein that a coil and a permanent magnet suiiice to generate precession movements in both directions, whereby merely the ow of current in the coil has to be reversed.

If the instrument is an azimuth gyro whose azimuth position is to be controlled by precession movements, anar-rangement is recomended,

such that the precession movementsabout the y Kvertical axis of the indicator frame are generated by a coilconcentric to the indicator frame axis,

which coll acts on permanent magnets attached.

to the gimbal ring 'in a plane normally parallel to the plane of the coil and having the same]l magnetic direction. It is recommended to make the design such that in the normal position of the gyro as determined by a magnetic compass the permanent magnets be either'in the direction of .the earths magnetic field or perpendicular to the magneticjnorth-south direction, in

order to keep the inuen'ce of the earths mag- I l netism on the gyro as small as possible.

ment magnetically neutral with reference to its .l

The last named device may be disadvantage ous if it is necessary to have the gyro instrusurroundings, for instance, not to disturb a nearby compass. Also it may be undesirable that the l earths magnetic eld exercise an inuence on e the gyro, however small, which might cause a precession movement, especially when the coil is disconnected. v

In such case, magnetic compensation -is recommended such that the eld generated by the permanent magnets is counteracted by a'set of cornpensation magnets `arranged at a greatly distance from theplane of the coil, Due to the different distances' of the two sets of magnets, the desired influence of, the field voluntarily created through the coil, remains.

If it is desired to cause precession movements in an horizon gyro, for instance for maintaining the vertical attitude of its shaft, then the `device is preferably designed so that precession movements about the Cardan axes are induced by coils arranged concentric to the Cardan axes,

which coils act upon permanent magnets mounted on the gimbal ring.

The invention is illustrated in the drawing, the i single view of which shows an azimuth gyro with cel each other with respect tov anysurrounding or equally distributed field, such as the earths magnetic field. The frame 203 is mounted rotatably about axis 208 in vertical ring 208. The ring is carried iii-bearings 209, 2I0. Fixed coil 2| I is mounted concentric to axis 209, 2| 0, in such manner thatmagnet 204 is more powerfully in fluenced than the more distant magnet 205. The coil has terminals 2|2 and 2I3.'

The coil may be mounted at any desired eleva.-

tion relative to its cooperating magnet, though for structural reasons it may be advantageous to mount both the coil 2li and the magnet 20| at some distance above the horizontal axis of the gyroscope, as shown in the drawing. Upon excitation ofthe coil, a torque is created about axis 20S-which` induces a precession about axis 209, I

2I0. The direction ofthe precession is determined by the direction ofthe ux iield created by the coil with relation'to the permanent magnets, and can be changed in known manner, as by 5 reversing the current in the coil, as from a suit which said frame is mounted for freedom about the horizontal axis, a support'in which saidring is mounted for freedom about a vertical axis, an electric coil secured to said support and concentric with the axis of said vertical ring, a perma-v nent magnet on said lbearing frame normally 1ying in orparallel to the plane of said coil and at an angle to said rst axis. means for supplying current to said Icoil in either direction, whereby a torq'm about said rst named axis is exerted in either direction, dependent on the direction of flow of current through said coil, and an extra compensation permanent magnet on said bearing frame of opposite polarity to the first magnet and at a greater distance from the plane of said coil.

2. In-a gyra-magnetic compass, the combina--- tion of a rotor bearing frame, a supporting casing therefor, means mounting said frame for freedom about a horizontal axis and a vertical axis within said supporting casing, electric coil means secured to said support and concentric with said vertical axis, a permanent magnet on said bearing frame normally lying parallel to the plane of said coil` means and within its field and at an angle to said horizontal axis, means for Supplying current to 1 said coil means to create a ilux in one direction or the other whereby a torque about said horizontal axis is exerted in either directiondependent on the direction of said flux, and magnetic compensation means adapted to set up a eld equal o and opposite to the ileld of said permanent mag- 'net relative to the earths magnetic f leld.

WALDEMAR MLLER. GERT zoEGE von MANTEUFFEL. 

